Warhammer of Zero
by Wernher von Braun
Summary: They come from a distant land. They bring with them gunpowder weapons never seen before, inverted social class, new system of government, and religions of their gods. Death follows their footstep, yet enlightenment as well. With the blessing of the Ur-Emperor, nothing will stop them from grabbing their manifest destiny.
1. The Dark Saviors

**The Dark Saviors**

 **Averland, Empire of Man**

"Stand your ground, men! Those Greenskins are coming towards us! Stand your ground, and together, we will banish them back to where they come from!"

After the short speech was delivered, the men of the Empire raised their weapons and shouted in agreement and excitement. The officer immediately went back to his position. The Empire Handgunners and Crossbowmen prepared their weapons and ready to fire at the slightest hint of the approaching enemies. The crews of the Empire Great Cannons, Mortars, Helblaster Volley Cannons, and Helstorm Rocket Batteries loaded their artillery.

Observing the battlefield as his men and him wait for the arrival of the Greenskins was a young noble with the name of Leopold Leitdorf, the distant nephew of Marius Leitdorf, the Mad Count of Averland. Despite being young, Leopold already proofed himself to be an expert fighter and military tactician. However, he was still too young to lead several thousand men.

The reason for that was because the more experienced and older commanders were killed or tasked to another army. Even more problematic was that the Empire was currently also fighting the Dark Elves raiders, the Norscan, and the Beastmen in various places. Then the Vampire Counts decided to join in the party. Due to that, the more experienced commanders were busy at other places.

Thus, the responsibility of defending Averland from the invading Greenskins fell to the hands of Leopold and other younger officers.

"WAAAAAGGGHH!"

The sudden shout of the Greenskins alerted the men of the Empire that they're coming. On the hills at the horizon, waves upon waves of Orcs ran towards the lines of the Empire soldiers. So far, none of them saw any Giant, Troll, or Arachnarok spider. This caused most of them to let out a breath they didn't realize were holding.

When the Orcs were on the effective range, the artillery crews fired their weapons. The bombardment managed to took out large numbers of orcs. When the Orcs were closer, the Handgunners and Crossbowmen joined in. More and more Orcs fell before their blades can touch even a hair of human.

When the Orcs were really close, the ranged fighters retreat behind the lines of Halberdiers and Spearmen. The latter two braced themselves as the Orcs charged to their positions. When the blades of two armies met each other, all sense of calmness evaporated.

The Halberdiers and Spearmen prevented the Orcs from pushing forward to the vulnerable ranged fighters and artillery crews. Almost the entire Orc forces committed themselves in breaking the lines of Halberdiers and Spearmen. Seeing this, Leopold ordered the Swordsmen to flank the Orcs while the Greatswords assisted the halberdiers and spearmen.

Some of the Empire soldiers got killed by Goblin Archers. With this, the Pistoliers and Outriders moved through the flank to attack the archers. The Goblins, seeing this, diverted their arrows to the riders, managed to took some of them. However, the riders managed to reach their target and started to massacred the Goblins. Seeing this, several of the Orcs ran away from the fight and chased the riders.

The Empire had predicted this. When those orcs broke off, they sent their Empire Knight regiments through the same way that the Pistoliers and Outriders used. Seeing the incoming Knights, the Orcs got confused on whether to keep chasing the riders or the Knights. Some of them decided to do the latter. Many Orcs fell when the Knights either impaled them with their lances or trampled them with their horses. The Pistoliers and the Outriders turned around and assisted the Knights in killing the remaining Orcs. Soon after, they diverted their attention to attacking the main Greenskins forces at their rear.

The battle continued for several bloody hours before the Empire managed to pushed the Orcs back.

* * *

 **Several hours later…**

 **Empire Encampment**

In the encampment, Leopold wandered around on his horse as he looked at the condition of the men. While the morale was fine, they were tired due to the lack of proper rest. Make sense since they were ordered to hastily march towards Averland when the news of the Greenskins attack reach the high-command. They marched from Ostland and on their way to their destination they came under attack from the Beastmen. Then, they came under attack from the Vampire Counts when their army marched near the border of Sylvania thanks to the mistake of their now-deceased commander. He was killed by the Vampire.

On his way to his own tent, he could see some Priests of Sigmar calming down some of the soldiers. They might be brave, but it's better to make sure that those bravery doesn't break at the most crucial time. He could also see the Priests of Morr gave rites to the deceased soldiers. There were also few Witch Hunters who joined the army when they pass through the border of Sylvania.

When he reached his tent, he disembarked with the help of Albert, his squire. His other errand runners also coming to his help.

"Are you alright, Sir?" Asked Albert.

"I am fine, Albie. Just make sure my steed gets her rest." Replied Leopold.

"At once, Sir."

As Albert took care of his horse, Leopold walked inside the tent, sat down, and let his servants help him taking off his armor. Now, dressed in a simple pants and shirt, albeit more luxurious than anything his men have, he lied on his bed and closed his eyes.

* * *

Walking around the encampment were two soldiers with mug of mead at their hands. Both of them were also talking to each other when they realized something. They turned their heads to their left and saw something that caused one of them to drop his mug.

"W-W-What is that?" Asked the soldier who dropped his mug as he pointed at the thing.

"I-I-I don't know." Replied his comrade as he drew his sword. "We should…"

"Stop!"

Both soldiers diverted their attention to look at the approaching Witch Hunter and some of his attendants. One of them was carrying a wizard who was wounded during the battle against the Vampire Counts. Which was rather strange since while the Hunters tolerated the Wizards from the Colleges of Magic, they would love to be as far as possible from them.

"Something wrong, Sir?" Asked one of the soldiers.

"This anomaly is caused by some kind of unknown magic. We need to keep away from it as far as possible." Replied the Witch Hunter. "At least according to what that wizard said."

"It is true. I do not recognize the flow of the Winds that might cause this type of anomaly." Replied the wizard.

Said anomaly was some sort of swirling energy. The swirls created what appeared to be an oval of sort.

"Could this be a result of witchcraft?" Asked one of the soldiers.

"Maybe. But I can't detect any sign of corruption…"

Before the Witch Hunter could finish his words, the energy condensed into a ball. The men of the Empire looked at each other in confusion before the ball suddenly explode.

"What the…?!"

"Sigmar help us!"

The energy enveloped the entire encampment. Both the men and the animals with them started to become panicked.

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

Slowly but steady, the energy disappeared from the encampment. When it finally gone for good, the Witch Hunters immediately checked everyone, including themselves, for the sign of corruption. The Wizards however stayed calm since they know that there wouldn't be any corruption found.

The magic energy that enveloped the entire encampment was not something they ever see. Heck, they were actually wondering whether or not that magic was related to the Winds.

After half an hour, the entire encampment finally calmed down and activities returned to normal. That is, until someone managed to realize something.

They weren't in their original position anymore.

* * *

Inside the command tent, Leopold was attending the meeting with several other officers. They were young nobles just like him who got breveted because no one else above them that are still alive.

None of them were wearing any kind of armor due to the meeting being created in haste. That didn't mean they were unarmed.

"So, when the magic ball exploded, it sent the entire encampment to Sigmar knows where and there's no clue on where we are?" Said Leopold.

"Indeed, Leitdorf. The Wizards also told us that they don't know what kind of magic that was used to do so." Replied Karl von Richthofen. "At least the topography of this area is similar to the ones on where we were."

Leopold let out a sigh as he massaged his forehead. He then looked at his fellow nobles with eyes that indicated anxiety.

"I know the rivalry that exist between the families that existed between the families of the Elector Counts, minor nobles, and each other. But, we've fight against the Greenskins, the Vampire Counts, the Beastmen, and even the Norscans side-by-side. So, please, I need your honesty now more than ever." Declared Leopold.

None of them replied his declaration. Soon though, one of them let out a sigh and fell to his chair. Others followed and everyone in the tent now knew something; all of them were worried and have no idea on what to do next.

Most, if not all of them, weren't the eldest child of their houses. Therefore, they need to make their own way in the world. Many of them were talented fighters and tacticians. As strategist and leading an entire army like the other nobles? That's not something they've learn and they didn't have enough experience as well.

"Well, there's always the first time for everything." Said Franz Pfeifraucher.

"Anyway, what kind of action should we take? Any suggestion?" Asked Karl.

"We should send a scout party to find and make contact with nearby settlement. Preferably being accompanied by a Warrior Priest and Witch Hunter." Suggested Wolfgang von Bildhofen.

"Good idea. The party will consist of Halberdiers, Swordsman, Handgunners, Pistoliers, and of course, Warrior Priest and Witch Hunter. Some of them should be able to participate." Said Leopold.

"But what if the population of the settlement don't speak Reikspiel?" Asked Franz.

"We're going to cross that bridge later. For now, let's start with the scouting." Replied Leopold. "What's your voice?"

The other nobles thought about it for several moments before all of them agreeing.

* * *

 **The next day…**

Marching from the encampment was the scouting party. At the front, they were led by Karl von Richthofen. Behind him were a Warrior Priest of Sigmar and a Witch Hunter. Behind those two were several pairs of Pistoliers. Following the cavalry were the Imperial Halberdiers, Swordsmen, and Handgunner. Their rear was protected by the remaining pairs of Pistoliers.

They have one simple task; find out where they've ended.

* * *

 **And the story is complete.**

 **For the** _ **Warhammer**_ **side, it actually leans more towards the** _ **Total War: Warhammer**_ **rather than the Tabletop.**

 **If** **you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please!**


	2. Seeds of Empire

**Seeds of Empire**

 **Unknown Location**

It had been three hours since the scouting party left the encampment. So far, they didn't find any sign of civilization. Fortunately, there was also no sign of the Beastmen or Greenskins. Still, they need to find a settlement fast. The supplies in the encampment were enough only for a week. With this progress, they will run out of food first before being able to resupply.

"Dear Sigmar, I have been on a scouting mission at Kislev and finding a civilization there was easier than where we currently are!" Complained Karl.

"Be patient, Von Richthofen. We've no idea where we are and even with compass, without knowledge of surrounding topography, it's easy to get lost." Said Father Erich, the Warrior Priest in the party. "We could have been walking in circle."

"I know, Father. But this entire event…it's just frustrating."

"I agree. I've spend two decades of my life fighting against the corruption of necromancy, Chaos, and countless other. And yet none of them is as strange as this one." Said Marius Boromin, the Witch Hunter in the party.

"So, still no clue on what happened?" Asked Karl.

"Nope. Not even the wizards in the camp know what's going on." Replied Marius. "But that's not as important as finding some place where we can resupply at this moment."

"We pass through a river at least an hour ago. And I noticed some of the trees that we pass by have fruits on them. Granted, I am not sure whether they're poisoned or not, but at least we're not completely hopeless." Said Father Erich.

"That's quite a knowledge, Father. I am sure the Church don't teach that."

"When you spend most of your time with the soldiers, you'll pick something or two from them."

The three of them continued their conversation to pass some time. However, Karl raised his hand to signaled the end of the conversation. He took out a spyglass and observed the horizon. He put it back and informed what he had seen.

"Smoke."

"Smoke? That means either forest fire or settlement. I believe the latter is the answer." Said Marius.

"In that case, we better increase the speed of our march. Clearly, the Ur-Emperor has shown as salvation." Said Father Erich.

With the possibility of settlement in their sight, the scouting party immediately fasten up and marched towards the source of the smoke.

* * *

 **Several minutes later…**

When the scouting party finally see the source of the smoke, they found out that while the smoke really did indicate a settlement, it didn't come from chimney or firework.

Rather, it came from several burning buildings.

"By Sigmar, what's going on over there?" Commented one of the Pistoliers.

Karl took out his spyglass and looked at the settlement. He could see walking around there were several people armed with various weapons and armors. They also acted in a rather unprofessional way. From his experience, he knew who these people are.

"Bandits. The settlement is under attack by bandits." Said Karl as he put back his spyglass.

"Bandits, huh? As much as I hate to say it, this raid serves our cause." Said Father Erich.

"Father?"

"If we drive off the bandits from the settlement, then the people that lived here will be grateful. In order to repay our help, they will give us some of the food that they have…provided those bandits don't destroy the ones that they don't steal."

Karl thought about it for a while. While what Father Erich said was rather cold, it was logical and often correct. This settlement looked nothing like something the Empire will build; it's too Bretonnian in style. There was a high chance that the local wouldn't know who they are or even speak Riekspiel. They need to make a bridge, building trust. And what better way to do that than rescuing them from the bandits?

"Alright then." Karl pointed at a Pistolier captain. "You, I want you to harass the bandits while the main forces closing in. Once we reach the settlement, fall back and provided fire support with the Handgunners."

"Yes, My Lord." Replied the Pistolier as he gathered his men.

Soon after, the Pistoliers rode off to the settlement first as Karl, Father Erich, and Marius led the foot soldiers, following the cavalries from behind.

* * *

 **Burning Settlement**

Near an entrance of the settlement, a farmer was being cornered by three bandits. He only had a pitchfork in his hands while his opponents had swords and armors. Things were looking grim for him.

Then, the Pistoliers finally arrived at the settlement and fired their pistols to any nearby bandits. The shots killed many of bandits, among them the three that trying to kill the farmer. With that, he immediately ran away from the fight.

Hearing the gunshots, the bandits from the deeper part of the settlement came to the entrance. The Pistoliers keep firing their pistols and reloading. When the bandits were getting close, they rode away from them while keeping their fire.

Suddenly, one of the bandits took out what appeared to be a long stick. It was then revealed to be a wand when he created a fireball and incinerated two unfortunate Pistoliers. By that time though, the main party had arrived and Marius saw what happened.

"By Sigmar, there is a witch in their rank!" Exclaimed the Witch Hunter.

Marius immediately galloped towards the witch with a pistol drawn.

"Face your punishment, witch!" Said Marius as he shot the witch in the head.

He, however, didn't stop galloping and continued deeper into the settlement.

"Boromin, get back!" Shouted Karl.

"It's useless, Von Richthofen. One of the flaws about some Hunters is that they will stop at nothing to purge corruption. Even if that means walking directly into a trap." Replied Father Erich as he dismounted from his horse.

The soldiers of the Empire immediately sprung into action. The Halberdiers made a line and acted as barriers between the approaching bandits and the Swordsmen and Handgunners behind them. The bandits tried to fight their way through the pointy ends of halberds, but only few succeed only to be immediately cut down by the Swordsmen behind the Halberdiers.

Some of the bandits were smart enough to ran through the long way and try to attack from the flanks. However, both flanks were covered by the remaining Swordsmen and Halberdiers, led personally by Karl and Father Erich.

"FOR SIGMAR!" Shouted the Warrior Priest as he crushed a bandit's head with his hammer. "He is the rock upon which the unclean will be broken!"

Erich smashed another head before a bandit tried to impaled him with a spear. With an armor that's supposed to make his speed impossible, he smashed the hand of the bandit before ending his life with a strike to the chest.

"The Light of Sigmar shines through me!" Another bandit tried to strike him, but the Warrior Priest dodged the attack and broke the bandit's kneecap. "And through me I shall fear no darkness!"

As he finished the bandit, the men of the Empire cheered at Erich's words. This gave them a boost of morale and they started to attack the bandits with fiercer than ever. Slowly but steady, they began to make a push to the center of the settlement.

* * *

John the Elder looked at the dying face of the bandit before he pulled his blade from the throat. He looked around and saw nothing but the corpses of the bandits and fellow villagers.

It was a nice, normal sunny day in his village when these bandits appeared from nowhere and attacked. Ever since the civil war between King James and the Reconquista started, life has been hard for almost everyone. Both sides employed mercenaries and when they were unable to pay them, those mercenaries became bandits and sacked any settlement that they found. This time, his village is the target.

A bandit with a large axe charged at him. John tried to parry the attack, but the attack was too strong and his blade got thrown. The bandit raised his axe and was about to end the life of the village elder when suddenly a gunshot can be heard. The bandit dropped his axe and fell to the ground, revealing a man with strange hat armed with a sword in one hand and pistol in another.

The man approached John while saying something. It sounded like Germanian, but not the one that he recognized. Then again, he couldn't speak the language. When he was in front of John, he offered his hand, which he took.

The man then turned around almost immediately to parried an attack. John went towards his blade as the man cut off the bandit's head.

* * *

As they make their way to the center of the settlement, the men of the Empire killed any bandits that they found with impunity. They also encountered two or three witches, which they decided to either trapped inside one of the burning buildings or crippled to be handed to the Witch Hunters later.

"Go forward, men of the Empire! Drive these bandits from the settlement!" Shouted Karl before killing one of them.

"OOORAAH!"

* * *

At the entrances of the settlement, the Pistoliers keep running around and gunned down any bandits that tried to escape. Some of their horses however had gone tired and forced some of the Pistoliers to fire stationary.

* * *

When Karl and Father Erich finally arrived at the center, they saw both Marius and an armed villager fighting against a group of bandits back-to-back. The Handgunners took aim and killed most of them, with Marius and the villager eliminating the rest.

"You seem to have your hand full, Boromin." Said Karl as his men spread out.

"Indeed, Von Richthofen. It is however, worth it. I managed to purged those damned witches." Replied Boromin.

"Well, not all of them. We found several on our way here. We let some of them burned inside one of these buildings and crippled the rest. We'll leave their fate to you." Said Erich.

"It is a good day, then. Our actions surely satisfy the Ur-Emperor."

Karl diverted his attention from Marius to looked at the villager.

"Is he one of the locals?" Asked Karl.

"He is. A pretty good fellow if you asked me. Good with sword." Replied Marius.

Karl walked to the villager and introduced himself.

"Greetings, Brave Villager. I am Karl von Richthofen, the third son of the Duke von Richthofen, of Wissenland, of the Empire of Man."

Karl could see the confused look at the villager's face. He seemed trying to say something, but whatever it was sound unfamiliar to him. His prediction was correct; they were nowhere close to the Empire.

So, where they were?

"Captain, I want you to sweep around the settlement and finished off any remaining bandits. After that, order some of the Pistoliers to go back to the encampment and guide them to here." Ordered Karl as he walked towards said captain.

"At once, My Lord." Replied the captain before starting to do the tasks.

It will take half an hour before the bandits were driven off.

* * *

 **The next day…**

 **The Settlement**

After the news of the discovery of the settlement reach the encampment, the main army packed up and marched to the settlement. Once they reached their destination, they set up their encampment just outside of the settlement, with the locals helping them as the show of thanks.

While the encampment was being built, Marius and other Witch Hunters interrogated the witches amongst the bandits. However, the language barrier prevented from gaining any information. It was the decided that at the least they should burn the witches, the fate that they deserved.

While the burning went just like in the Empire, the locals seem to be shocked by what they were doing. So much in fact that they keep starring at the ashes of the witches. The soldiers then dispersed the locals and everything went back to normal.

Perhaps they didn't purge their witches with fire.

* * *

Right now, inside a hut, the nobles, priests, and Wizards were trying to pass through the barrier that was language. So far, the process went smoothly.

The Amethyst Wizard calling upon the souls of the fallen bandits, and, through speaking with them, gained the basic knowledge of the language help quite a bit.

"OK, I managed to gain several information from the villager, John his name." Said Adolf Kahler.

"Great. Can you tell us where we are?" Asked Leopold.

"According to him, we're at Albion."

"Albion? There's not rain at the moment. Albion is supposed to be raining every day." Said Franz.

"That's…where thing gets strange. According to John, Albion is a…floating island."

Silence fell to the group as they heard what the Wizard had just said. A floating island? By Sigmar, is there something wrong with this place?

"Are you sure?" Asked Father Erich.

"Well, there might be some mistranslation. But when I asked about the Empire, Marienburg, or Norsca, the man had no idea about what I said. About the Empire though, he asked if I am trying to say the Germanian Empire." Replied Kahler.

Soon, the group started to conversating among each other. It was clear that the situation was not as simple as they thought it will be. Could they end up in a place far, far away from the Old World? If so, is there a chance to return back?

"Alright, alright. We'll discuss about this later." Said Leopold as he calmed down the others. "What does he know about the current situation?"

Kahler translated the question to John who then explained the overall situation of Albion.

"He said there's currently a civil war between the nobles. One side is being led by the monarch, King James, while the other side is being led by Oliver Cromwell. Both sides are currently trying to gained an advantage against the other." Replied Kahler.

As soon as the Wizard stop speaking, Leopold immediately went outside and approached one of the soldiers.

"Soldier, I want you to deliver a message to the captains; tell them to gather the men and set up defenses around the encampment as well as the settlement. And do it fast."

"Sir?"

"Just do what I said!"

"Y-Yes, Sir!"

The soldier immediately ran off to deliver the message. Leopold could hear that someone was approaching him from the back. When he turned around, he saw Wolfgang approaching him.

"You seem to be in hurry, Leitdorf. Is there something wrong?"

"There is, Von Bildhofen. If my feeling is true, then it's only a matter of time until either the Reconquista or the soldiers of King James reach this settlement. When they arrive, we need to be ready."

* * *

 **And the chapter is done.**

 **The Empire unit roster:**

 **Lords:**

 **Generals of the Empire**

* * *

 **Heroes:**

 **Empire Captains**

 **Warrior Priests**

 **Witch Hunters**

 **Amethyst Wizard**

 **Bright Wizard**

 **Celestial Wizard**

* * *

 **Melee Infantry:**

 **Empire Greatswords**

 **Empire Halberdiers**

 **Empire Spearmen (Shields)**

 **Empire Swordsmen**

* * *

 **Missile Infantry:**

 **Empire Crossbowmen**

 **Empire Handgunners**

* * *

 **Cavalry:**

 **Empire Knights**

 **Pistoliers**

 **Outriders**

* * *

 **Artillery:**

 **Great Cannons**

 **Helblaster Volley Guns**

 **Helstorm Rocket Batteries**

 **Mortar**

* * *

 **As for the amount of men, it's full two** _ **Total War**_ **army size. The** _ **exact**_ **number is something I am still thinking about.**

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please!**


	3. Faith, Steel, and Gunpowder

**Faith, Steel, and Gunpowder**

 **Magnaburg, Albion**

It has been two weeks since the Imperial Army repelled the bandits from the settlement, named Magnaburg. Already civilian activities returned to normal. The farmers taking care of their fields, merchants offering their goods, smithies working in their workshops, and many others.

However, there were noticeable differences. For one, the settlement was surrounded by makeshift wall. Though to call it a wall would be gratuitous, as barricade would be more correct. It was manned by the soldiers of the Empire. On each road to the outside, makeshift gates were made.

Those two weeks were also not a peaceful one. Bandits keep trying to attack despite have a clear sight of the Empire Great Cannons. Looks like they were that desperate. Then again, among those bandits there were witches. So, perhaps their confident wasn't so unjustified.

There were also some extra buildings in the settlement. There were two buildings that served as church for Sigmar and Morr respectively. Every day, the churches were visited by some of the men of the Empire. Some of the locals also took an interest and decided to visit.

Communication between both sides however was still limited. Thus, it was hard for the priests to explain who were the gods, what they do, and other things.

On the other hand, it was enough for other vital stuffs. Due to attacks after attacks by bandits and raiders, the Imperial asked for the blacksmiths to create swords, spears, halberdiers, and muskets to replace the broken ones. No explanation was required for the smiths to know just how important that task was to keep their settlement safe.

The Imperial was also no longer alone in defending Magnaburg. Some of the young men decided to join in in the defense of their home. Despite thankful for the help, the Imperial didn't want brave volunteers, they want brave _and_ trained volunteers. With that in mind, an Empire Captain was assigned to drill the men and turned them into Free Company Militias.

So far, the orders given by the Imperial Army were executed without any hindrances. When Leopold asked an elder about this, it turns out that the settlement changed allegiance so many times due to being captured and recaptured so many times that most of the locals were unsure whose sides that they support. So, they decided to support whoever protecting them at the time, and this time it was the Empire.

Well, it wasn't that different during several wars between the Empire and Bretonnia. Conflicts between human nations tend to cause loyalty problems for the peasants.

* * *

 **Church of Sigmar**

Inside the hall, Leopold was praying to Sigmar. After he finished his praying, he stood up and walked outside.

Outside of the Church, Albert was guarding their horses. When Leopold was near enough, he gave his Lord the rein of his horse. Leopold mounted the horse and rode off, followed by Albert behind.

"What's the latest news, Albert?" Asked Leopold as they rode through the settlement.

"Nothing of concern, My Lord. The food stock is steady, the smiths are doing a good job, no sign of public disorder, and none of the patrolling Outriders report any sign of bandits or army from either the Reconquista or the Royalists." Replied Albert.

"Good to know. Our men are going to need as much rest as they can, for what we will do next may took months or years to complete."

"What is actually our plan, My Lord? I have heard rumors but nothing more."

"I appreciate your thirst for knowledge, Albert. But one must remember to be careful in the pursuit of it less he became the slave of the Raven."

"O-Of course, My Lord."

"As for your question, this settlement can support our army, but only by rationing. Furthermore, the Reconquista and the Royalists will try to crush us to destroy potential threat. And I won't blame them because we will be one."

"My Lord?"

"With the conditions, the only way to ensure our survival is to expand, conquering the land of Albion to increase the fields to grow our food, to increase the population under us to be taxed and recruited, and to make sure that the loss of one settlement won't cripple us to the point of an almost extinction."

"Do the Albionese will accept you and other nobles as their lieges, My Lord?"

"I don't know about the local nobility, but the peasants will. Give them food for their stomach, shelters for their families, and let them pray to their gods, and the peasants and other lower classes will follow you to the coldest edge of Norsca."

"I see, My Lord."

"There are also religious reasons for that. But if you want to know, you better ask Lector Abraham for that. You can also ask Adolf Kristallnacht who had been elected as the acting leaders of the Witch Hunters. But I won't suggest that."

"Of course, My Lord."

The rest of the ride ended with silence as the Lord and the Squire continued their ride through the settlement.

* * *

 **Training Field**

Another building that the Empire add when they settled near the settlement was a training field that can be used by Imperial soldiers to make sure they keep vigilant or volunteers to honed their skills.

At one part of the field, some volunteers that were experienced in using longbows were being trained to increase the rate of their shot and their accuracy.

At another part of the field, there were several volunteers that were being trained in the Empire Handgunner tactics. They have to load the musket as fast as they can, wait for the signal from the commanding officer, and fired at the same time.

Another part of the field was used to train the volunteers into Free Company Militias. They were taught on how to hide in the forest, bushes, and many other places. They were told that in battle, they will fire at the enemy combatants with their pistols before charging with their swords. It was the kind of tactics that they were currently being trained.

The remaining part of the field was used to train Imperial Swordsmen and Spearmen. There's only so much you can do with Free Company Militias. If the Empire wanted to expand their holdings, they need to strengthen their forces with the same quality of soldiers that they have back home.

An Empire Captain, Paul Schulz, was observing the training being taken by the volunteers. His Albionese was like most of the Imperial, which wasn't that good, but it was enough for the volunteers to understand what he was trying to say.

"Use more power, maggots! My grandfather swings harder than you! Make this worth my time!"

* * *

 **Imperial Command Tent**

Inside the tent, the nobles of the Empire were having a meeting. They were going to discuss about the next step that they should take. They decided that one of them was going to be elected as the main leader while the others - while lower - still have influences. It was like how the Emperor makes a decision with the Elector Counts.

At least according to them. Not being the first son makes most of them spending their times more on military than politics. It was not because they weren't interested, but because their chance of even being involved in that world was quite slim. Their chance of gaining influence and prestige through military achievement was higher. Due to that, their knowledge on _how_ the Emperor and the Elector Counts _exactly_ make a decision that could affect the Empire as the whole was rather…minimal, to say the least.

"Alright. A week ago, we had proposed the candidates and yesterday we had given our votes." Said Wolfgang with a parchment on his hand. "The result…"

Wolfgang rolled down the parchment and clear his throat. The nobles were waiting with both curiosity and wariness.

"…is that Leopold Leitdorf has been elected as the overall commander of our forces."

When they heard the result, some nobles let out the breath that they didn't realize they were holding. As the tense atmosphere gradually decrease, Leopold stood up which attract the attention of the people in the tent.

"You ready to take your oath, Leitdorf?" Asked Wolfgang who got a nod.

"With the blessing of the Ur-Emperor Sigmar Heldenhammer, I, Leopold Leitdorf, swore to do my best to secure victory, safety, and glory for us and the Empire."

The nobles in the room, while still remain silent, showed him faces and signs that he had their supports. Of course, if he wanted more of them, he need to proof himself.

"Gentlemen, my fellow nobles and warriors, as you know, our situation is anything but secure." Said Leopold as he gestured to the map at the middle of the tent.

In the middle of the tent, there stood a table. On the table was the map of the Island of Albion. At the northernmost of the island, there was a banner in the color of red and gold; the colors used to depict the symbols of the Imperial powers. The rest of the island was covered with the banners in the color of either red and white or green and white; the colors of the Royalists and Reconquista respectively.

"The territory that we hold won't be enough to support us in a long term and vulnerable to any form of invasion. In order to defend ourselves, we need to expand."

"Expanding however, will draw the attention of the other factions. Currently, they possess more resources, territory, and manpower than us." Said Wolfgang.

"Indeed. But that's their overall advantages against us, not the ones that they can bring on us for the first few months." Replied Leopold which caused curiosity in some nobles. "Pfeifraucher, if you will?"

"Of course." Franz stood up and gave a sign to one of his aide. "The island of Albion can be divided by what's the most abundant in its territory."

As he spoke, Franz's aide walked to the map and made a line using a chalk. The line divided Albion into two; north and south.

"The North of Albion possess raw materials and industrial buildings while South of Albion is where agricultural activities are concentrated. South of Albion is also where economical activities are concentrated due to its close proximity with the continent of…Halkegenia."

"Currently, the forces of Reconquista and the Royalists are in a middle of a stalemate at the South of Albion. That's where most of their forces are concentrated. The presence of the forces from both sides are minimal in the North." Said Leopold.

"Unfortunately, we don't have enough information at the moment to know what or why. However, this is an opportunity that we should grab. Most of the settlements in the North are guarded only by local garrisons and it will take days for anyone to send a message to the nearest reinforcement that can challenge us." Said Franz.

"Those reinforcement is stationed at Edenburg, one of the southernmost city at the North." Added Leopold.

"What makes both factions unable to send those reinforcement in time?" Asked a noble.

"Overextension. Local merchants that visited Magnaburg told tales about how rough the journey to the North is due to both sides keep destroying the roads and rebuild them in haste. This means that the Reconquista and the Royalists are destroying each other supply lines and when they try to rebuild them, they got destroyed again. And foraging is a bad idea in a civil war."

Everyone in the room knew just how bad foraging is to both the civilians and the soldiers. The Age of Three Emperors gave the Imperials a very, _very_ hard lesson on just how bad foraging is. The forages done by not just the divided Imperial military, but also the Orcs, the Beastmen, the Undead, the Norscan, and the Forces of Chaos left a bitter taste for foraging in many generations of the population of the Empire.

"In any case, this is a chance that we should take. The Reconquista and the Royalists are on stalemate, their supply lines to the North are minimal and inefficient, the settlements are only guarded by local garrisons, and the nearest reinforcement won't arrive in days." Said Leopold.

Leopold stood silence for few moments before taking a seat. Once he did that, the nobles started to discuss; they were all agree that they need to expand. What need to be discussed was where and how.

* * *

 **Church of Sigmar**

Near the altar of the Church, several Warrior Priests of Sigmar and Witch Hunters were having a meeting of their own. Needless to say, the unique situation that they faced makes it necessary for them to think on how to approach it.

"Alright, first and foremost is that the locals obviously do not follow the same faith as us. They do not worship Sigmar, Ulric, Morr, or other known gods." Said Lector Abraham.

"You don't have to state the obvious." Replied Adolf Kristallnacht who got a shrug as a reply.

"Nevertheless, one of our problems is that our fluency with the local language is…not good to say the least. Without that, we won't be able to effectively spread the words and examples laid by the Ur-Emperor."

"Indeed. Though at least we can relax about the part the locals don't worship the Ruinous Powers." Said a Warrior Priest.

"You sure about that? Because almost every bandit groups that we fought contain at least a witch or two. The ratio is…disconcerting." Replied a Witch Hunter.

"In any case, until we become fluence in the local language, what we can do is rather limited. Helping the soldiers at battlefield, rooting out heresy and witches, two things that we can do effectively at the moment." Stated Lector Abraham.

"Do we have any idea on what kind of faith the locals practiced?" Said another Warrior Priest.

"From what we know, the locals seem to revere a man named 'Brimr' or something. The way they described him however makes him more like a…prophet rather than a god. Why ask, Bishop?" Replied Abraham.

And yes, the Warrior Priest that asked the question was Father Bishop. He tended to get some funny looks due to his name.

"Nothing. I just…have some bad feelings about this Brimr person. Can't point out why."

The Warrior Priest didn't say anything more about the issue. Due to that, the Warrior Priests and the Witch Hunters started to discuss about something else.

One of them was that the Witch Hunters will have steady supply of woods and oil to burn heretics.

* * *

 **Tent of Magisters**

Inside the tent, the Amethyst Wizard, the Celestial Wizard, and the Bright Wizard were also having their own meeting.

"So, the Winds really act like that and not just me?" Asked the Amethyst Wizard, Lea Sauer.

"Yes, the flows of the Winds of Magic seem to be…tamer and more predictable for some reason. With this state, the possibility of us accidentally opening a way for a daemon is lower." Replied the Celestial Wizard, Paul Kuhn.

"But just because it's lower, doesn't mean we're immune to such a thing, right?"

"Eh, better safe than sorry. One thing for sure is that the Witch Hunters still watch us like hawks." Said the Bright Wizard, Theo Gross.

"By the way, what do we know about the local's magic? Do we managed to gather anything?" Asked Kuhn.

"Unfortunately, we can only see it in action when the bandits attacked us. And before we could ask them, the Hunters already tied them to the pyres and obviously won't listen to us. And before we could ask the nobles, they're already ashes." Replied Gross.

"Well, just like usual then." Commented Sauer with a bitter smile.

"Didn't you ask the spirits of the fallen bandits for information?" Asked Kuhn. "I am sure that…"

"It's not that simple. If I do it wrong, I might accidentally raise them. That's just how the Purple Wind of Shyish works."

"You sure? Never heard of that."

"You're not from my order. Besides, you do know what will happen to me if I do that?"

Kuhn stopped talking for a while to think about it. He decided not to discuss about it further.

* * *

 **The next day…**

When the sun finally rises from the horizon, it illuminated the streets of Magnaburg. When the light was finally enough, people could see the Imperial forces marching through the streets. The nobles at the front leading their subjects to the next battle.

The decisions had been made; Leopold Leitdorf will lead a contingent of troops to a march towards Edenburg while capturing the settlements on the way. His contingent was also tasked to create, fix, or improve the roads towards the city to ease the logistic chain.

Karl von Richthofen was tasked to capture the settlements not located near the main road towards Edenburg. While Leopold marched towards the city, there will be settlements that he couldn't capture without deviating from his destination. As such, the responsibility of securing those settlements fall under Karl's hands.

Franz Pfeifraucher was tasked to commanded the rest of the Imperial troops that wasn't under either Leopold or Karl alongside the newly-recruited locals to defend Magnaburg. Being from Nuln, he was also tasked to do any improvement that he could.

Not that they hope a lot due to their current conditions.

Speed was one of the most important factor; they need to capture as many territories as they can while also fortifying them, especially areas with strategic values. They also need to minimize the casualty. As such, both Leopold's army and Karl's army were bringing their artilleries to convinced the local garrisons that fighting them isn't a good idea because the Imperials can just sit back and bombard them.

As Leopold looked towards the horizon, he can only hope that Sigmar will grant him, his colleagues, and his men victory and wealth. He knew that the road to that won't be an easy one. But he can't help but hope in the end, all of their efforts will be paid.

* * *

 **Answers to some reviews:**

 **Erunerus:** Large units.

 **edboy4926:** Well, considering that the only Elves that the Imperials know that live in the forest are the Asrai of Athel Loren…yeah, it won't be quite peaceful.

 **Firem78910:** That's their goal.

 **Random Templar:** Oh, yes. The Witch Hunters will have a field day.

* * *

 **And the chapter is done.**

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please!**


	4. Northern Aggression

**Northern Aggression**

 **Londinium, Albion**

The capital city of the Kingdom of Albion. It was the seat of power of many dynasties that have ruled Albion, with the House of Tudor being the latest. It was a thriving city, with roads build between it, the agriculture buildings, and the trading ports. Thus, wealth from them would flow into Londinium.

However, while activities in the city still ran like normal, the situation was no longer calm in Albion. Several nobles led by Oliver Cromwell had declare that the House of Tudor's oppressions of the commoners were against the teaching of the Founder. Thus, it had become the duty of them – the devoted followers of the Founder – to toppled the King of Albion and putting a rightful ruler into the throne.

Usually, this won't fly well for the Church, the nobility, and the commoners because rebelling against the monarch means going against the Founder because the monarchs of Albion were descendants of one of Brimir's son. However, the oppressions done by the current King of Albion, James I, managed to break the…shall we say, tradition.

He imposed a big tax on the commoners to such a point where many farmers were two meals away from revolution. While most nobles in Albion didn't care much about the commoners under them, some did. Just to make sure that their subjects could eat enough, they had to use any loophole that they could find; like classifying some of the wheats as "grass" and thus untaxable.

This was why those nobles were among the first to join the Reconquista.

Currently, the civil war hadn't escalated yet. Most of the fights were still skirmishes between the nobles of Reconquista and the nobles of Royalists. There were still many nobles who hadn't decide on which side that they should join. As such, the conflict also involved buying the loyalties of those nobles and biding their time.

However, they better chose fast. Because at the north, _they_ won't wait.

* * *

 **St. John's Palace, Londinium**

Inside the war room of the royal palace, the generals of the Albion military were having a discussion. Usually, their discussions happened with the attendance of King James. However, he had a more important business to settle. Thus, he wasn't alongside them.

However, the discussion was observed by the third son of James I, Wales Tudor.

Wales, unlike his father and brothers, was almost universally loved by the people. There was also the fact that Wales didn't agree with many of his father's policies due to the effects that they had to the commoners.

Due to this, there were rumors around the palace that Wales might join the Reconquista due to his morality. When the King heard about this, he called it folly, stated that for all his disagreement, he considered Wales to be his most loyal son.

This was not without a reason. Despite being the third, Wales was the son that received the most love and care from James I. Said what you want about him, but it was clear that his love for his children were genuine.

"So, like us, the Reconquista haven't mobilized most of their forces yet?" Asked General Rupert Rhine, the overall commander of Albionian Army.

"No, Sir. It's a good thing that we got a wind of possible rebellion. If not, the time that we used to pile up weapons and ammunitions will be used by them to mobilize their forces." Replied General Maurice Rhine, the brother of Rupert.

"A good thing indeed. We our weapons and ammunition secured, now we need to…"

Before Rupert could finish his words, someone entered the room. From his clothing, he was identified as a courier. The courier approached Rupert and bowed before giving him a scroll. The general grabbed it and unrolled the scroll. He read it for few minutes before his eyes became wide.

"Gentlemen, it appears that the northern people decided that they don't like both us and the Reconquista and decided to create their own side." Informed Rupert to the rest of the room.

Shock filled the entire war room immediately. Many officers that were sitting before stood up and they started to talk with each other, wondering how this could've happened.

"Calm down. Everyone calm down." Said Wales before everyone did what he said. "Continue, general."

"Of course, Your Highness." Rupert cleared his throat first. "Our forces at the north reported about men with unknown allegiance taking control of the settlements there. It was not the Reconquista because they didn't fly the colors of the rebels and taking the settlements belong to the them as well. The fact that they have cannons proofed that these people aren't mercenaries."

The conversations between the officers started again. Only this time it was subtler. They knew just how few soldiers that were stationed at the north. That means this new faction only need to threaten to bombard the settlement from a distance if they didn't surrender. It didn't take a genius to know what would happen.

"Can we send reinforcement to our forces at the north? We need to deal with these new rebels fast before things escalated out of hand." Asked an officer.

"That will be impossible." Said Wales which drew the attention of the people in the room. "Most of our forces are posted at the strategic places like the port cities. Then, both us and the Reconquista destroyed most of the roads to the north to deny access to each other. Last, the season."

Silence fell into the room as they remembered what kind of season currently happened at Halkegenia and the one that was about to come.

"Late autumn." Said Maurice simply.

Late autumn. It would only need a month or two – heck, perhaps even weeks – for winter to finally hit Halkegenia. Campaigning during winter, while not impossible, was one of the least wise decision someone could make. You had to be either incompetent or desperate to think that's a good idea.

When you command an army, you need to feed them. Winter is the time when food is the most limited. A wrong distribution or amount of eating can spell disaster. There won't be any grass that can be used to feed the horses and other animals to carry your supplies. Most of the water bodies will be frozen and when you break the ice to get the water, the water will be cold and drinking cold water during winter is not a good idea.

To put it simply, there was nothing that the Royalists could do without taking a big risk. On the other hand, the same winter would prevent the northern people from going south.

"Whatever happened, this is not good. With the Reconquista at the east and the northern rebels at the north, we will be fighting a war on two fronts." Said an officer.

"Indeed. However, same thing will also happen with the Reconquista. To a degree, the northern people will also face similar problem because despite only advancing to the south, they've to face armies from two sides." Said Rupert.

"In any case, we need to remake our plans. What's the threat assessment of both the northern rebels and the Reconquista?" Asked Wales.

"Your Highness, there are only few noble houses that reside in the north. Which means our mages outnumbered them and by standards, the proportion of their commoner troops with their mages will be ridiculously high." Informed Rupert.

"On the other hand, there are several famous nobles among the Reconquista's leadership. One of them is Sir Thomas Fairfax. Talented in both military and politic, Lord Fairfax is not an opponent that can be underestimated. Our military might will be more or less the same." Added Maurice.

"Now, what do you think we should do, Your Highness?"

From his tone, Wales knew that the general was testing him. Make sense, since Wales' knowledge about anything related to warfare was learned from books and tutors. And like what they say, experience is a good teacher.

"Because the threat of Reconquista is higher than the northern rebels, we better focused on the former first. We need to create some sort of…buffer between us and the northern rebels. Deal with the Reconquista first, then finished the rebellion at the north." Suggested Wales.

His plan was simple, but logical and reasonable. The information that they have suggested that the northern rebels wouldn't be a bigger threat than the Reconquista. Thus, they should prioritize in taking them out first. This way, the Royalists could avoid two fronts war. To some degree.

The look that General Rupert gave to him made Wales knew that he made a good decision. He couldn't help but smile a little; he had nothing but respect for him.

* * *

 **Carnarvon Castle, Albion**

Inside one of the mightiest castles the Albionian ever made, the high command of the Reconquista gathered in one of the rooms to discuss about the progress of the war. In the middle of the discussion however, they received a similar news.

"So, the northern people decide that waging against us _and_ the Royalists is a good idea?" Said Thomas Fairfax with a slight disbelieve. "Well, isn't that great? The war already escalated beyond control!"

"Not necessarily." Replied Oliver Cromwell. "It is bound to happen; peasant, noble, taking the advantage of crisis."

"I know, Cromwell. Doesn't mean I have to like it." Fairfax grumbled for a bit before regaining his composure. "Anyway, we need to rethink our plans."

"With winter coming in close, there's nothing we could do to crush the rebellion at the north. At the same time, the Royalists are a much bigger threat. I believe we simply need to hold the rebels from gaining any of our territory while we fight the followers of the tyrant." Replied Earl Robert Essex.

"I agree with Lord Essex. There aren't many nobles at the north of the country. Moreover, they won't be so idiot as to using this war as opportunity to increase their wealth and power rather than siding with either us or the Royalists, which is more guaranteed." Said Earl Edward Manchester.

The other nobles then shared their agreement with the plan.

"Now that we have a…solid plan, what we need to do next is to make sure that we can fulfill it." Said Cromwell. "What's the comparison between our forces and the Royalists?"

"While the quality is more or less the same, it's hard to say the same thing with the quantity. The House of Tudor is related with some of the houses at Tristain, including the royal family of Tristain." Said Earl Manchester.

"That is correct. I know this might be not the right place, but I am sure you know about the…rumors between Prince Wales and Princess Henrietta?" Said Sir William Wallet.

The nobles in the room start to murmured about the topic. While not exactly widespread, there were rumors that Prince Wales of Albion and Princess Henrietta of Tristain were more than just cousins. Truth to be told, none of them had any idea why such a relationship created rumors in the first place; marriage between cousins wasn't that uncommon among the royalty.

Perhaps there was something more behind it.

"Well, perhaps we can use this to sour the relationship between Albion and Tristain. Somehow." Said Cromwell with a rather unsure tone.

"In any case, we need to do something about Tristain. Romalia is almost guaranteed to take their official stand; neutrality. No need to explain Gallia. Which leave Tristain with the most likely country to support the Royalists." Said Fairfax.

"We'll think about it later. At the moment, we should focus on gathering food for our army. Same thing with the defenses between us and the northern rebels and the Royalists." Said Cromwell.

With the priorities set, the leaders of the Reconquista continued their discussion.

* * *

 **North of Albion**

What was previously an army of footmen with cavalries and some cannons had turned into an army of carts. Each time Karl's army captured a settlement, they would take a portion of the food that the people there have. They would also confiscate most of the gunpowder that they have.

Since his army only took a portion of the food and with politeness to boot (and the fact that the locals didn't need most of their gunpowder), the locals willingly did what he asked. Of course, there were some soldiers who decide to take more than necessary, especially the new recruits.

The Empire Captains took care of that problems.

Though Karl couldn't help but wonder why there were so much gunpowder? While he could understand a small amount of it considering that he saw some muskets among the locals, the amount that he confiscated was just too much. Seriously, at this point his army could fire all of their ammunition and there would still be some gunpowder left.

On the other hand, considering how many battles that the Empire won by liberal application of gunpowder, he wouldn't complain.

"My Lord, look!" Said a Pistolier suddenly.

Karl stopped his thought and looked at what the Pistolier pointed at. From the distance, he could see what appeared to be a manor. He could also saw what appeared to be plantation at the area around it.

Karl was about to give an order to check the manor before a hand stopped him. Looking at the owner of the hand, he saw a Witch Hunter raised his hand.

"Lord Richthofen, let me lead some of the troops to inspect the manor. I have a bad feeling."

Karl thought about it for a while. It had been three weeks ever since they left Magnaburg. Along the way, he and his men learn more about the local language. Now, they could speak in a more acceptable level with the locals.

There was also the fact that an advice and suggestion from a Witch Hunter wasn't something you just want to ignore. Many of them were experienced in stuffs that would confuse the common people.

"You have my permission." Said Karl.

The Hunter gave a sign of respect before moving back to where most of the infantries were.

* * *

 **Manor**

Inside the luxurious living room, Sir John Maces was having a peaceful tea time when one of his servants approached him.

"My Lord, there are some people that want to have a talk with you." Informed the servant.

"Tell them to come some other day. I have a much more important business." Replied Maces without any care.

"I…I am afraid they won't do that, My Lord. There are outside and armed."

Hearing that, Maces grabbed his sword-wand before approaching the balcony. When he looked at the people below, he saw a group of armed people with one of them wearing a rather strange clothing. Perhaps their leader?

"Are you the owner of this manor?" Asked the man with strange clothing suddenly. He was speaking with a very thick accent.

"Why, yes of course. If you have a business with me, then I am afraid you have to come some other day for I am a busy man." Replied Maces while holding some anger due to the man's impoliteness.

"You know about the civil war, correct?"

"Of course, I am! Are you taking me as a fool?!"

"Putting it shortly, we decided to take part in the war. A whole new side."

It took Maces several seconds to get what this man means. And more seconds to realize his intention.

"Oh, no. Absolutely no! I will not bow down to a mere commoner!"

The man did something that he couldn't believe; he rolled his eyes and murmured about something along the line of "stupid pompous noble."

Oh, he's going to pay!

Maces chanted a spell and blew away several of the armed men with a strong gush of win. When he looked at their leader, rather than realizing his place the man instead looked at him with a cold hard fury.

"WITCH!" Shouted the man as he took a pistol and fired it.

Maces managed to dodge it, but soon had to retreat from the balcony since some of the armed men fired their muskets. Then, he could hear that they were trying to breach into his manor.

As he ran towards the door, Maces didn't know why but he had a feeling that he had made a bad decision.

* * *

 **And it's done.**

 **For your information, many notables Albionian will be named after famous people from the English Civil War.**

 **Now, answers to some reviews:**

 **Firem78910:** Provided the Witch Hunters don't get their hand on Colbert first.

 **Rhivan:** There will be some ruling and the Imperial trying to make Albion into a copy of their home.

 **Carre:** That's why they would be afraid with Tiffania. She lived in the wood and an elf. The Imperials don't want to take a bet that she's in a good mood. And then there's the locally recruited Imperial soldiers…

 **Ayman El Kadouri:** They'll find a way. Not the first time the Empire dealt with flying opponents.

 **gold crown dragon:** What makes you said that?

 **ATP:** Nah, most of Saito's harem would be enemies of Leopold.

 **Guest:** What do you mean? Everything seems OK.

* * *

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please!**


	5. No Mercy for the Wicked

**No Mercy for the Wicked**

 **Outskirt of Edenburg, Albion**

Several miles away from the settlement, Leopold took a closer look at it with his spyglass. He could see several soldiers started to manned a pair of cannons on the wall. From the banners on the same wall, he knew that those soldiers belong to the Royalists.

Leopold put back the spyglass and rode back to his army, who were only several feet away. From what he saw, it would only take an hour or two before the battering rams and the siege towers to be ready.

When Leopold arrived at where his aides and servants were, he dismounted from his horse and approached his squire. Seeing his lord walking towards him, Albert picked up a sword and presented it to Leopold. Leopold took the sword while also giving a sign of appreciation.

As he walked back to the rest of his army, Leopold inspected his sword. While in look like a Runefang, a closer examination would reveal that it was simply look like one. Nevertheless, it was still a weapon created by the Dwarfs, so it's still have some worth.

He remembered how he was given this sword by his uncle Marius for his 15th birthday; several days after he managed to mastered the lessons given by his tutors in swordsmanship. He really appreciated it and held his uncle in high regard ever since that.

…that is, until his madness returned and accused him of stealing his Runefang, Mother's Ruin, and chased him throughout half of Averland. How he forgot that he asked for Mother's Ruin to be cleaned half an hour earlier before he accused him is still something Leopold couldn't comprehend.

He loved his uncle. But there were times when he couldn't help but wanted to send him to an asylum.

When he reached the rest of his army, he soon met the people that he wanted to have a talk before the siege started.

"Captain, what's the condition of our army?" Asked Leopold to an Empire Captain.

"They're well-fed and morale is high, my Lord. Just like your order, the new recruits are positioned in the center, where fighting is most likely to happen."

"Good. Those men are going to need as many experience as possible." Leopold then diverted his attention to Paul Kuhn. "You're ready?"

Kuhn said nothing in return but he nodded in response. Considering that's enough, Leopold walked to the lines of the Empire State Troops.

* * *

 **Several miles away from the manor…**

As his army marched towards their next destination, Karl observed the fire that burned what was before a manor under the control of a witch. In a case of better be safe than sorry, he decided to ordered the manor to be razed.

Of course, they didn't forget to take the plants, cattle, horses, gold, silver, and other valuable materials. And just to be safe, the priests had inspected and blessed them in case a dark magic contaminated them.

Still, he wondered how a witch was capable of gaining such a wealth and influence? Most witches that he knew tend to live in poverty and hidden among the society. It was a good tactic since it will make it harder for a Witch Hunter to find them. However, being an owner of a manor could draw unwanted attention.

While he knew some wizards were rather rich and they were influential magic users like the High Elf Teclis, this magic user is human and no one in their sane mind would give a human magic user that much wealth and influence thanks to their tendency of getting corrupted or exploded when they got their spell wrong. And in case of Teclis, he's a High Elf. Enough said.

In any case, looks like the people that lived near the manor had no idea that their master was a witch. When his troops and the Witch Hunter managed to capture him, before they could even make a pyre, the people there attacked them. They were almost overwhelmed when Karl came to their rescue alongside his bodyguards.

In the end, most of the locals were killed and the remaining escaped into the nearby forest. While he didn't know the local fauna in Albion, he had a feeling that those people will either meet the orcs or the beastmen. None of them are good choice.

With the manor and the surrounding area abandoned, the Imperial forces razed them in order to prevent the spread a corruption and other people to use them for their own benefits. While the edible and valuable goods were taken, the books and arts were left to be burned in the fire in fear of them being connected to the dark arts.

"Sir, we should continue." Stated an Empire Captain suddenly.

Karl, realizing that he had been thinking too deeply, immediately rode towards the front of the army.

* * *

 **Edenburg**

At the north side of the wall, Lord Archibald was observing his men preparing the defense. The musketeers have readied their muskets and took their respective positions on the wall. The archers were below them, on the ground since they could fire without straight line. Near the gates, the pikemen were ready with their weapons on hand. The swordsmen were behind them to give supports.

However, he couldn't help but worried at the state of his cannons. Thanks to the order from the main command, many of the cannons that Edenburg had have been taken to be used in other places, leaving only several.

With the small numbers of cannon, Lord Archibald positioned most of them at the south part of the wall, in preparation of the Reconquista attack. Unfortunately, the attack instead came from the rebelling northern people. As such, when the rebels had arrived, he only managed to moved two cannons to the north wall.

On the other hand, the scouts that he sent reported that the rebels were seen making siege towers and battering rams. Making those things took a long time. As such, he should still have some…

"My Lord, the rebels are attacking!"

"What?!"

Hearing that from one of his aides, Lord Archibald immediately ran towards the top of the wall. Just as he said, the northern rebels were attacking. The sieges towers and battering rams at the front of the rest of the army.

" _How? How could they finish them that quickly?! They should've needed more weeks to finished them!_ " Thought Lord Archibald.

He shook his head to get rid of such a useless thought. At this moment, he needed to rally his men and prepare for the assault.

"Get ready, men! The rebels are coming to our city! They intend to take our city and sack it! This, we cannot allow!" Shouted Lord Archibald as he unsheathed his sword-wand.

* * *

Across the field, the State Troops marched towards the wall of Edenburg. Their siege towers and battering rams in front of them, ready to make a way for the rest of the army. Leading at the front was Leopold Leitdorf alongside a pair of Empire Greatsword regiments. There was also the Celestial Wizard that accompanied him.

On the wall, the Royalists musketeers prepared their muskets. The cannon crews readied the fuses of their cannons and wait for the Imperial forces to be in range.

Suddenly, the State Troops stopped. Kuhn walked a few step forwards from the rest of the Troops before preparing his spell. When it was ready, he immediately used it with the intention of destroying the wall.

The Royalists musketeers suddenly realize that something was wrong with the sky. When they looked up, they saw the Comet of Casandora was falling towards them. Before any of them could react, the comet hit its target, killing a large number of musketeers, destroying both cannons, and wrecked the wall.

As the Royalists forces tried to regain their composure, the State Troops immediately increased their speed towards the newly-created hole. They abandoned their siege engines as they no longer needed them. Heck, they never intended to use them in the first place; simply to make the enemy think they still have time.

As the infantry marched to the hole, the crews of the Empire Great Cannons and Helstorm Rocket Batteries open fire. As the cannonball and rockets hit them, the Royalists slowly retreat from the hole in fear, especially from the rockets; they've never encountered such a weapon before. The red glares and sounds created by them strike fear into their hearts.

Finally, the State Troops managed to reach the wall. The Empire Handgunners walked in first with the Halberdiers behind them. When the Handgunners saw the Royalists forces at the other side of the wall, they opened fire. At the same time, the Royalists managed to organized themselves and their own surviving musketeers and archers fired back.

All of them reloaded as their armies took their first casualties. Through the gap between the Handgunners, the Empire Halberdiers moved in and reorganized. The Royalists pikemen tried to move forwards and drove the State Troops to outside. However, the Empire Halberdiers managed to halt them as the Empire Swordsmen joined in.

The Halberdiers broke the pikes before moving deeper. Seeing their pikes were broken, the pikemen dropped their weapons and drew their own swords. The swordsmen behind them joined in. All of this resulted in a bloody melee.

Seeing as his men were locked in a melee, Lord Archibald and the mages with him tried to find a position where they can use their magic without attacking their own men as well. When they saw that thanks to the earlier bombardment by the State Troops, some parts of buildings fell apart and provided elevation.

Lord Archibald and some of the mages used the debris to elevated themselves from the ground and used their spells at the Empire troopers. Barrages of fire and wind hit the troopers and either killing or injuring them.

Suddenly, one of the mages alongside Lord Archibald got shot. The shot came from Leopold, who cursed a little before putting back his pistol. He then led the Empire Greatswords towards Lord Archibald, who was behind the Royalists pikemen and swordsmen currently being pushed back by the Empire Halberdiers and Swordsmen.

With the support from their general and the elite Greatswords, the State Troops increased the rate of ground gained from the Royalists. Finally, after minutes and minutes of brutal melee, the Royalists forces broke apart. This made the Empire troopers giving them a hot pursuit.

As Lord Archibald and other mages retreated to a favorable condition, he couldn't help but cursed his situation; many of his cannons were send to other places and many of his men were still green. Just from seeing them fighting, he realized that the "rebels" were more experienced that he expected.

Suddenly, his group was under attack by the Empire Halberdiers. Since they were too close to use a spell, Lord Archibald and other mages were forced to fight in melee. As he fought the Halberdiers, he could saw a bald man with a hammer in his hands approached them.

One of the mages managed to kill a Halberdier before running towards the Warrior Priest. The latter immediately smashed away the former sword-wand before crushing his head. Another pair of mages tried to attacked him, but the Priest managed to kill one and before the other one can use his spell, the Priest ran towards him and pushed his body towards the nearest wall. There, he took a few steps back before crushing the man's head with his hammer.

As Lord Archibald killed the two Halberdiers that attacked him, he realized that slowly but steady his men were killed one by one. After few minutes of fighting, while he managed to killed six in total, he was now alone. Seeing the Halberdiers were pointing their halberds at his neck, Lord Archibald let out a sigh as he dropped his sword-wand.

Seeing that their job was done, the Warrior Priest used his hammer to force the enemy's leader to kneel. He was then dragged by two Empire Halberdiers.

By the end of the day, the entire city of Edeburg fell into the Empire's hands.

* * *

 **Manor**

Karl rode towards another manor that they encountered. As he rode to his destination, he could see the Empire troopers restrained some peasants. When he finally reached the manor, he could see the front yard was filled with bodies of guards and few Empire troopers.

Karl dismounted from his horse and walked towards a Witch Hunter, who watched very closely to three people.

"Weber." Said Karl as he approached the Hunter.

"Von Richthofen." Replied the Witch Hunter.

"Witches?"

"Good guess. This is the second manor that we found housing witches."

Karl couldn't help but became even more confused by the situation. He found two manors and both of them were owned by witches. That possibility of those happening is…very improbable to say the least.

Basically, this discovery just opened a whole new can of worms. There were a lot of factors that need to be considered. Like how much corruption had spread throughout the land, how many people that they've met that's actually witches, how…

"Von Richthofen, I can see from your face how deep your thinking is." Said Weber which caused Karl to stopped doing that. "Worry not. Leave the corruption-related problems to us. But first, we need to deal with these witches."

Karl diverted his attention towards the witches. They were a middle-aged man and woman and a boy who was only recently becoming an adult.

"Get the pyres ready." Said Karl as he walked towards the troopers outside of the manor.

If he was right, then the people here would try to defend the witches. Just like the people that they met at the previous manor.

* * *

 **Edenburg**

Inside the cell that have become his living quarter after the fall of the city, Archibald observed as one by one the mages from the cells near him was taken away. When they return, they showed obvious signs of being tortured.

This didn't make sense. Even mages that are parts of landless nobility could be ransomed at good price, to say the least. As such, keeping them well and clean would be the best thing to do.

Well, there was nothing that he could do about that. All that he could hope was that the high command would send an army to liberate the city. Alas, he knew that the earliest time they would arrive would be after winter.

Archibald took a sip from the cup of water that had been served for him. They didn't even have a decency to give him a mead. As he took the sip, he was thinking about the battle.

While he could see that the rebels and his men were green, he also noticed that the men led by a man in an ornate armor were experienced; as if they've been through countless of battles and survive. Something was not right. There was no way those people were northern rebels; they were simply too experienced. But who could they be?

His thought was interrupted when the door of his cell was opened. At the door stood two perhaps-actually-not rebels armed with halberds. They gave him a sign to follow them. Letting out a sigh, Archibald put down the cup and followed his captors.

* * *

 _ **Half an hour later…**_

Archibald and other mages have been walking without any rest. They've been walking through Edenburg and exited one of its gates. Then, they saw a group of State Troops surrounding something.

"What…what's going to happen…to us…my Lord?" Asked one of the mages.

"Don't talk! Move!" Shouted one of the captors.

He had to admit, Archibald was also curious on what their captors plan to do with them. It was quite unlikely that they've been ransomed since the news wouldn't have arrived to the high command until days from now.

When they reach the group of State Troops, the troopers moved away to give Archibald and other mages a clear way to move to their destination. When the last trooper moved, Archibald could clearly see what was it that they surrounded; a row of pyres.

"No…" Said Archibald softly as he realized what would happen to them before being pushed forward.

* * *

From the balcony of Edenburg's town hall, Leopold could see through his spyglass as the Witch Hunters prepared to burn the witches with other troopers guarding the pyres. While he wanted to see the burning from up close, he decided not to for he still has some work to do.

Before the burning was started, Leopold turned around and looked at the maps and papers that had been collected by the State Troops after they took over the city. They should have more information about Albion's current state.

The maps revealed that the territory held by both the Royalists and Reconquista turned out to be much smaller than what the Empire had previously thought. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that there were quite a lot of territory marked with the word "disputed."

The Royalists garrison was consisted of – according to his opinion – full-time military personnel and city militias. It was not hard to be figured considering that they could be split into two groups; those with standardized equipment and those that looked like using whatever they had at home.

The militias were allowed to return back to their homes and families provided that they swore fealty to the Empire and not taking arms against them. Many of them accepted the offer. Those who didn't were executed alongside the full-time personnel.

The executions happened because of the amount of food that the Empire managed to collect. A messenger pigeon had just arrived earlier to deliver the information about the progress of Karl von Richthofen. Just like expected, the northern territory of Albion didn't have a lot of locally grown food. With the addition of thousands of the State Troops, they need to find a way to decrease the amount of food needed. One of the ways was the executions.

Sure, it was brutal. But the lesson that had been ingrained in the mind of everyone in the State Troops is that for every glory gained in battle, they are pale in comparison of the brutality of war.

Leopold's thoughts were interrupted when he felt what he waited. He turned back to the balcony and watched the pyres through his spyglass. He could see clearly as the witches trying to escape from being burned alive to no avail. He then once again returned into the room.

There would be a lot of work needed to be done.

* * *

 **Answers to some reviews:**

 **SammyKai1996:** Don't worry. The non-humans will also be portrayed in a positive light. Though considering _Warhammer_ standards, they won't be _that_ good. And there are exceptions in forms of orcs and goblins. Yes, they also exist in Halkegenia.

 **Guest:** I agree and disagree with you. I agree, this isn't the first story of someone from another world trying to rule Halkegenia. I disagree, because this is the first story of crossover between _Warhammer Fantasy_ and _Familiar of Zero_.

* * *

 **And this is the end of the chapter.**

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please!**


	6. Cold Lesson

**Cold Lesson**

 **Magnaburg, Albion**

It had been two weeks ever since the first snow fell unto the floating island. The earth grew cold and plants could no longer grow on it. The green of leaves had disappeared and the cattle were put into the barns.

Inside the building that had been renovated for him, Franz Pfeifraucher was currently making some calculations on how many food, ammo, clothing, and other stuffs needed for the Imperial forces to wage war effectively against the Reconquista and the Royalists and then compare those numbers with the available materials.

Franz stopped writing when he heard a knock on his door. After giving a permission, one of his servants entered the room.

"Ah, Ron. Have you return with the results?" Asked Franz.

"Yes indeed, my Lord." Replied Ron as he gave his lord a piece of paper.

Franz took the paper and read it. He let out a sigh as the content was as what he expected; it was the numbers of the available materials. What made him sigh was not the amount of the materials, but rather the numerals used to write those numbers; they were quite similar to the Old Imperial Numerals. Those kinds of numerals have been mostly replaced with Arabian Numerals except for few occasions. For all the problems that they've brought to the Old World, at least the Arabians knew how to make very simple numerals.

Well, at least translating them to the numerals that he used was quite a simple task. Still, it would be good if he could make the people under the Empire to used Arabian Numerals.

"What's the condition of the gunsmiths?" Asked Franz as he put the paper down.

"They're working on the muskets and cannons. It will take a while since they're not used to make flintlocks. They're used to matchlocks." Answered Ron.

"I see. It couldn't be help. Thank Sigmar that Winter came, for it prevented the enemies from marching towards us. We have at least a season to be ready."

After saying that and ordering his servant to leave, Franz continued his calculations.

* * *

 **Months later…**

 **Gallows' Road**

Inside the town hall of the settlement, Karl von Richthofen was reading a book. Gallows' Road was the last settlement that they visited and thus he decided to use it as a place for his army to rest. It helped that there were many empty space and inns for his men to stay. Good thing about winter is that the chances are low that someone would be travelling and thus freeing the inns to let his men stay.

Suddenly, he heard a knock from the door. After giving a permission, an Empire Greatsword opened the door and let a State Troop enter. From his face, Karl knew that he was one of the locally recruited troops; an Albioner. He was unarmed and looked quite nervous. Understandable since he was in the same room as his liege.

"Sit down." Stated Karl as he gestured at an empty chair in front of his desk.

The State Troop immediately approached the chair. Despite that, it did nothing to mitigate his nervousness.

"So, I heard that you manage speak our language." Said Karl

"Little bit, mine Lord." Replied the State Troop. It was clear that he only knew the basics.

"Good. I will ask you about the nobility of your land and you will provide me with the answer."

"Trying my best."

"Alright. I have read that your nobles can use magic. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Why do you let the magicians become nobles?"

"The magic a sign. Blessing from gods."

Upon hearing that, a suspicion grew inside Karl. While it's not strange for a god to bless one of his followers, like what Almighty Sigmar always do to his priests, this is the first time that he heard a blessing came in a form of magic. The only god that he knew that blessed his followers with magic…

The State Troop's nervousness dropped a little when he saw his liege shivered a little. The latter then also shook his head before continuing the asking.

* * *

 **Carnarvon Castle**

Inside his office, Oliver Cromwell was reading a letter delivered by a certain familiar. Moments later, he heard a knock from his door. After giving a permission, Sir Thomas Fairfax entered the room.

"Ah, Lord Fairfax. Is there something that I can help you with?" Asked Cromwell.

"There's one." Replied Fairfax as he took a seat. "We managed to convinced many nearby nobles to side with us. However, some of them are worried that doing this could caused the gods to be furious at us."

Cromwell nodded a little upon hearing that. The three main kingdoms of Halkegenia – Tristain, Gallia, and Albion – were ruled by the descendants of Brimir himself. As such, there were fear that deposing any of them would invited the wrath from the gods. Usually, this situation is solved by giving the throne to another descendant. Thus, the nobles can justify it by saying that they're installing a rightful heir.

However, James I was the only child of the previous king, Charles I. As such, there were no strong candidate for the throne, at least those that can be convinced to join the Reconquista. Sure, they might be able to install a weak candidate. But that will just open a can of worms.

As Cromwell gave a thought about the situation, Fairfax noticed the letter in his hand.

"Is it from him?" Asked Fairfax with disdain.

"Yes. From His Majesty himself, delivered straight by his own aide." Replied Cromwell as he simply tossed the latter to his desk.

"I don't like this at all, Cromwell. Joseph is known for many things and supporting us could be simply for his own amusement."

One of the unexpected supporters of the rebellion was none other than King Joseph of Gallia. Known as the Mad King by most of Halkegenia, the title alone told people what you need to know about him.

When the Reconquista received a letter for him that said he was ready to give support to them, it was immediately seen with suspicion. However, by rebelling against the Royalty of Albion, the Reconquista will have problem with gaining support from people outside of Albion. The country didn't have natural source of saltpeter; an important ingredient for black powder.

Thus, with reluctance, the Reconquista accepted his support. When asked what he wanted in exchange of the help, Joseph merely replied that he would tell them later.

"I can understand your suspicion, Fairfax. Even I have mine. However, desperate situation requires desperate solution. If the King gets his hands on us, we will drop fast, stop suddenly." Replied Cromwell.

Fairfax let out a sigh and wandered a bit.

"Well, I guess we don't have much choice." Stated Fairfax before Cromwell and him went towards the insecure nobles.

"So, how far the planning has gone?" Asked Cromwell curiously.

"Not much. But the baselines are clear. When the spring comes, the food stock would've been depleted and refilling it would be necessary. As such, we need to disturb the Royalists attempts in doing so and making sure the same thing doesn't happen to us."

"Hmm… What about the northern rebels?"

"We won't do any advancement towards the north. A war on two fronts must be avoided at all cost. The best we could do at the moment is holding the line. Then, after the problems with the Royalists are settled, we will move up north and crush the rebels."

Cromwell said nothing after hearing the explanation. He simply nodded his head.

* * *

 **St. John's Palace, Londinium**

Inside his room, Wales Tudor was looking at various books and scrolls about military knowledge. Due to his lack of experience, Wales was assigned to be under the tutelage of Jacob Reading, 1st Baron of Astley, who was a relative to the Royal Family.

Wales' reading was interrupted when he heard a knock from his door. He stood up and unlocked the door before opening it. When the knocker entered the room, Wales found out that it was his eldest brother, Richard.

"Richard? Why are you here?" Asked Wales as he closed the door.

"Just want to see how my little brother face the oncoming war." Replied Richard simply as he took a seat.

"Well, I guess you can say I feel a little bit nervous." Wales took a seat as well.

"I can see why. I know this is obvious, but don't do anything stupid and try to be heroic. Just…stick with Baron of Astley and observe the battlefield."

"Thanks for the advice anyway." Wales thought about something before speaking. "What's George currently doing right now?"

"George?" Richard looked around the room uncomfortably. "Do I even need to tell you?"

Upon hearing that, Wales let out a sigh as he could guess what his second older brother did; it must have involved a woman.

George Tudor, the second son of James I, was a known…womanizer. Fortunately for his family, George knew better than to cause a scandal. Well, most of the time. And to be fair, being "free" isn't uncommon among nobility, despite against the teaching of the Church.

On the other hand, George was a patron of art and science. He redecorated a royal garden and during his journey through Halkegenia, he came back with local books and scrolls and expanded the content of the royal library.

The opinion that most people in the palace had was that George would make a good scholar, but a bad king.

"Who is it this time?" Asked Wales as he started to rub his head.

"I never see her before. Considering her clothes and how nervous she was when she talked to me, I think we can make a guess." Replied Richard as he also felt a coming headache.

Wales simply let out a sigh. Hopefully George wouldn't make any big problem. He then looked as his brother grabbed one of the scrolls on his desk.

"I just remember, Richard. Shouldn't you be heading towards the front today?" Asked Wales.

"No. It's delayed until next week. Turns the levying efforts of the subjects take more time than we thought. Besides, Winter is not exactly a season where one has energy." Answered Richard.

Richard Tudor, the first son of James I, was a well-known administrator and military commander. Though admittedly his experience in the latter part was against rogue mercenaries, orcs, and bandits. Still, that should count to some extent.

However, Richard was not without his own flaw, whatever that is. Wales once overheard a little about this kind of topic when he past his father's throne room but because that was impolite, he decided not to listen further.

"Well, looks like you've a keen eye for selecting good reading materials." Commented Richard as he picked a book.

"Glad to hear that." Replied Wales with a little smile.

"Still, I know some better materials for you." Richard stood up and walked towards the door.

Wales silently followed his brother as both of them exit the room.

* * *

 **Months later…**

 **Edenburg**

Inside the town hall, Leopold Leitdorf was looking at the various papers and letters that other commanders had sent to him. The Imperial Army hadn't spent the Winter by being idle; they trained the locals to become State Troops, taught them how to make Empire-standard weapons, learned more about the local cultures, and many more.

In the end, they knew that there were some problems that they need to take care of.

One of them was that the number of troops that the Empire could muster would be lower than both the Reconquista and the Royalists. This was because the mainstay of the Imperial army consists entirely of professional soldiers. Sure, it's often bulked up by a large portion of Free Company regiments, but since may Empire Generals look down on them and seldom use them in the battlefield, their importance in the equation is questionable.

Another thing that need to be settled was the difference of religion between the Empire and the locals. Most of the people in the Imperial Army were Sigmarite with some Ulricite. The locals were followers of the local religion that they had dubbed as "Brimrite." There were always tension between the Sigmarite and the Ulricite despite already knowing they could trust each other for thousands of years. Fortunately, the Warrior Priests had talked with the local priests and declared that the Brimrite was…fine. They can let them continue worshipping their gods.

And speaking about the religion, came perhaps one of the biggest problems; namely, the local nobility were also mages. This…wasn't something they have faced before. In fact, some commanders were so surprised by that fact that many sent many letters to ask for confirmation more than thrice.

Leopold had to admit that the situation was alien to him. He was not stranger to mage with influential position, like Balthasar Gelt, the Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic. But where the mages were also the ruling class, that was something he never seen before. On human at least. He only has limited information about the High Elves (he blamed it on his laziness during his younger days) and the Dark Elves are lead by the Witch King.

But humans and Elves aren't the same. The capability of humans to use Winds of Magic was miniscule compared to what the Elves could do. There was also the fact that unlike the Elves, the reliability of humans using magic was…questionable at best, considering how easy it is for mage to suddenly becomes a living bomb.

Then, there was the fact that since the Generals of the Imperial Army came from different provinces, many of them had different attitudes with each other.

One thing for sure was that he realized that sending Karl to deal with the surrounding countryside was a bad decision since he's Middenlander. Among the Generals, he was the most intolerant and had big distrust towards anyone who can use magic. One of few exceptions was the Elves because he knew better.

Leopold also admitted that he might not be the best person in dealing with this stuff since he's Averlander. Like many Averlanders, he believed in superstition. Even his order to executed the captured Royalists' mages – and thus nobles – was thanks to the prediction of his personal astrologist.

The lack of experience didn't help at all. Normally, they would ask the older, more experienced commanders for solutions or at least advice. But all of them were killed before the Imperial Army got itself transported into Albion. Thus, they had to find the solution alone.

Leopold let out a sigh and gave himself some time to rest. This wouldn't be an easy campaign. Which means just another day.

* * *

 **Months later…**

 **Spring, Albion**

When spring finally came to the island, the farmers returned to their fields. They let out their cattle from the barns and started to toil the soil. It would take time until something could be planted in it, but better start now.

Various activities also started to return to normal. Artisans taking out their creations. Merchants bought them, either to be sold at the town market or at another town. Bakers could now keep their breads warm for a longer time. Everyone were now freed from the harsh winter.

Well, not everyone. Just like previous winters, some didn't manage to survive. Then again, that was simply a fact of life.

However, the season also marked the beginning of a new era. An era of steel and blood.

From the Carnarvon Castle, the Reconquista forces marched forwards. Pikes, spears, and muskets were the main weapons of the commoners in the army. While the weapons were mostly uniformed, not so much with the armors and clothes. They used whatever they've on hand. Some managed to buy a new set of armor. Some used the same armors their fathers wore. And some didn't have any.

From Londinium, the Royal Army of the Royalists marched forwards. The composition of their army wasn't that different from the Reconquista's. However, they possessed more armor for the troops, more swordsmen, and better cavalry. They also possessed some of the most elite regiments available in Albion.

From Edenburg, the Imperial Army of the Empire of Man marched forwards. They were the smallest army in the war, but the most trained. Discipline and valor had been installed in these men through strict and harsh methods. Gunpowder weapons was also a field where they exceled.

When these three armies met, the shocks that they made would sent shockwaves through the world.

* * *

 **Answers to some reviews:**

 **mordicus18:** It's _Warhammer_. Heroes and assholes being neighbors aren't unusual. Thus, both poisoned each other.

 **rc48177:** That's actually one of their problems. Remember, they're still beginners for the Empire's standards. Their mentor figures are all dead before they're transported to Albion and thus they need to find the solutions themselves. It won't be pretty of course.

 **Warden97:** Simple. Siege engines take a long time to be build not only because of the sizes, but also because you want them to work properly and hard to be destroyed. Because he never had intention of using them, Leopold didn't care about those stuffs. Had the siege engines being used, they will be some of the most fragile engines in war.

 **ATP:** Heh. If you know _Warhammer_ , things are never that simple.

* * *

 **And that's the end of the chapter.**

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please!**


	7. Hard-Gained Lesson

**Hard-Gained Lesson**

 **Northern Albion**

It has been a month ever since the three armies from the factions of Albionian Civil War marched to gain more territory. So far, there hasn't been an official clash between the armies. They need to gain more land before they can even see the noses of others.

Compared to other factions, the State Troops of the Empire of Man marched slower. While this confused the locally-recruited Troops, the Troops that came from the Empire itself already know the reason.

Namely, plunder. Like many armies, the State Troops – while not lacking in supply convoy – still mostly rely on plundering the surrounding area for their needs. Age of Three Emperors made the Empire realized that plundering the same area for years is not a good decision. There were many instances of the State Troops during that age that fought with malnourishment simply because there wasn't food to plunder to fulfill most of their needs.

Thanks to those experiences, the Empire made sure that they do not stretch their supply line too far. Of course, most of the times they do the opposite since they need to defeat their opponents as soon as possible. Makes sense since they often fight unholy abominations like the Greenskins, the Beastmen, the Vampire Counts, and the Forces of Chaos.

Basically, just another day in the Empire.

This time though, since their opponents are fellow humans, they can be more…relaxed compared to usual. In any case, attacking supply line has been an ancient way to defeat an army. Even the oh-so-honorable Bretonnians did that kind of thing as well. Though somehow, they managed to remain chivalrous in doing so.

"Halt!"

The State Troops immediately stop upon hearing the order. The new meats were bumping on each other first before stopping. Rather expected to be fair.

"Set up the camp, men!"

After the order was given, the State Troops split up into several groups, each with their own task; setting up defense, setting up the tents, collecting water, and more.

* * *

 **Southern Albion**

Riding his horse in front of the marching Royalist force was Wales, alongside his bodyguards. Behind him, the foot soldiers and cavalries marched in order. Wales' troops were well-trained, but lacking in experience.

Wales remembered the task that his brother Richard gave to him before the former leaves Londonium. It can be summarized as giving his troops some experience before going into the real battle.

One of the tasks that they must do was taking supply from the town that they were about to past. Richard told him that the usual method to do that is by "requisitioning" those supply from the locals. The locals would love it if they got paid for those supply, but this isn't mandatory.

Wales didn't like the idea of taking the food and water of his subjects at sword's point. That was the reason why his army was bringing with them a cart with bags full of coins. The day Wales has to do that is the day when Albion falls.

Related to that, another thing that his brother told Wales was to keep an eye on his men, especially those that came from the commoners. Not to say that those that came from the nobility wouldn't do it, but the commoners were more likely. Also, in case his men manage to plunder the locals without his permission, Richard told him to make sure that those men "drop fast, stop sudden."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant.

"Your Highness." Wales turned his attention to one of his aides. "We almost reach the town."

"So it seems. Order the sergeants to be ready. Keep the men in line." Stated Wales.

"At once, Your Highness."

* * *

 **Northern Albion**

 _WHAAP_

"GAH!"

In the town square of a recently conquered town, an Empire Captain was overseeing the flogging of three state troops. All of them have been sentenced to receive that punishment after being caught trying to steal a gold necklace belonging to an old woman.

Leopold Leitdorf sentenced them to receive 20 lashes in the town square, where fellow state troops and civilians alike could watch them. He preferred not to execute them, since Leopold was going to need as many troops as he could gather. At the same time, he couldn't let these troops to just walk away since it could disturb the public order.

Thus, being flogged was selected as the punishment.

When the last flog was given to the third troop, the flogging was over. Several state troops untied the flogged troops before dragging them back. From the looks that the civilians have, the punishment satisfied their desire for justice and things will return to normal quickly.

* * *

In another part of the town, Leopold gave a merchant a big bag full of gold coins. The latter happily accepted the bag before expressing his gratefulness. After that, an Empire Captain gave order to the state troops to brought what Leopold bought back to the rest of the army.

Leopold walked back to where the rest of his army took a rest while they were in the town. As he walked, he also calculated how much supply that he managed to gain and how far can his army march before they have to restock.

Because this town surrendered rather than resisting, no looting happened. To win more of the population's hearts, all supply that the Empire took from the town will be paid upfront. Not the full market price to be honest, but still enough for the population to make profit.

Leopold was kind of glad with the whole misunderstanding of witches and local nobles. With the owners either dead or ran away, the Empire stood unopposed in taking the riches that they owned which included – but not limited to – gold and silver coins. The same coins that Leopold used to pay for the supply.

Those coins were also used as first salary for the militias that Leopold formed to guard the town. They were – unsurprisingly – the very same militias that surrendered to him when the Empire took the town. To be fair, militias' loyalty tends to be loyal only to the town that they guard.

Leopold stopped his monologue when he arrived at where his army was. He decided to give them five more minutes of resting before continuing the march.

* * *

 **Southern Albion**

A Royalist duke was leading his army through a road flanked by trees. Knowing that it was a good place for an ambush, he had sent several light cavalries to scout ahead. Several minutes later, they returned and gave their report; the road was clear.

With that, the Royalist force started to march through the road. Despite already sending scouts, the duke couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. Something just doesn't feel right. It's as if he forgot about something important; important enough that it could change…

 _BANG BANG BANG_

"Argh!" "What the…?!" "Dear Founder…!"

The duke's thought was interrupted by gunfire. From the sound, he knew the positions of the musketeers; both sides of the road. Several of the Royalist musketeers returned fire at the attackers. Then, from the trees, lancers charging towards the Royalist force. The pikemen tried to form up and stopped the lancers. However, they were too in disarray and the cavalries were too fast, ending up with the pikemen and the musketeers being stabbed or trampled.

It was an ambush.

"My Lord, it's…!" Before he could finish his words, one of duke's bodyguard was shot in the head and chest.

Immediately, the duke unsheathed his sword-wand and casted a fire spell at the lancers. He managed to took out seven of them; they fell down from their horses and rolling on the ground as the fire consumed their bodies. The rest of the lancers were retreating. The duke tried to cast another spell but had to stop and moved to somewhere safer after some of the Reconquista musketeers fired at his direction. The duke galloped away from his original position but suddenly fell down after a shot killed his horse.

From the trees, Reconquista force began to send their foot soldiers. They were armed with variety of weapons; swords, maces, spears, axes, etc. All of them suitable weapons for fighting this close. The Royalist pikemen dropped their pikes and drew their own swords, daggers, and others.

Before both forces met, the Reconquista mages used wind spells and disoriented the Royalist force. The Royalist mages tried to strike back, but then the clash occurred. Being attacked at the front and the rear, the Royalist force was in disadvantage. With them packed in tight space, there wasn't enough room for the mages to cast any spell unless they are willing to hit their own men. While the same thing also happening to the Reconquista mages, at least they weren't packed in tight place.

"We can't stay like this for long!" Stated one of the Royalists troop.

"Not disagreeing. We need to cut our way…" Before he could finish his reply, the troop was cut down.

"Look! Look! At the rear!"

Upon hearing that, some Royalist troops began to look at their rear. Seeing nothing worth being mentioned, they diverted their sight to the rear before the ambush. They saw a glimmer of hope; a gap in the enemy line.

"There's an exit over there!"

"Push through men! Whatever you do, don't stop until you reach the gap!"

Soon, the Royalist force began to fight their way towards the gap. It was no easy feat as they had to fight the Reconquista force trapping them. Slowly but steady, they were getting closer to their goal.

When the first man reached the gap, he immediately ran away from the fight. He was soon followed by others. Finally, all that still on their feet were now running away from the Reconquista force, leaving behind the dead and the dying.

"We're safe! Wohooo!"

"Run! Run as fast as you can!"

"Wait, why aren't they shooting at us?"

Some of the Royalist troops realized this and looked back at the Reconquista force. They were watching them with amused expression, though still keeping their guard. The musketeers were aiming at the escaping Royalist troops but didn't pull the trigger despite still in effective range.

The reason was soon answered when a contingent of Reconquista cavalry galloped towards them.

The Royalist troops started to run faster than earlier. Some of them decided to stood their grounds, knowing that they couldn't outrun a cavalry. Few managed to land a hit and killed the riders but most were cut down by the cavalries.

Among the cavalries were the Royalist light cavalries, revealing how the Reconquista's ambush wasn't spotted. The light cavalries shot their fleeing former comrades with their guns before attacking with their swords.

In the end, most of the Royalist force were killed. From 3,600 men, only 60 infantries survive and escape. Due to the ambush, the Reconquista force that was a third of the Royalist's size – 1,000 infantries and 200 lancers, then boosted by the defecting 60 Royalist light cavalries – managed to rout their adversaries.

The Reconquista force began to clean the road. Every valuable stuff was stripped from the corpses. Coins, cartridges, musket balls, armors, swords, anything that can be used to boost the war effort. The bodies were then stacked up and burned by the mages. The only exception were the fallen nobles, for their bodies will be returned to each of their family.

The Reconquista force then left the battlefield, carrying with the loots and prisoners. Among the prisoners captured was the duke that led the Royalist force, found on the dirt being unconscious.

* * *

 **Northern Albion**

In the encampment of the Imperial force, the state troops were eating the ration provided by their superiors. The type of ration provided tend to not be the same each day, depending on what other food that they acquired, amount of time available, and often, the mood of their superiors.

Among the state troops, several of them were making their own little group. There were some of the Albionians recruited by the Empire to bolstered its manpower. At this day, they were about to eat their first ration. Before, they were eating bread and dried meat. And some cheese if lucky.

"So, what's inside this?" Asked one of them as he took a spoon of the ration, which looked like a porridge.

"I heard that they used wheat, fat, and cheese. Cooked at the same time to save time." Replied other who then realized something. "Hey, that rhymed."

"Well, at least it's not barley." Said a state troop who let out a sigh before eating the ration.

At first, he wanted to immediately swallowed it, expecting a rather bad flavor of the ration. However, he stopped himself from doing that and actually began to tasted it. Yes, it was somewhat bad, but there was something in the flavor that tasted…unique.

"Hey, Ben. You're alright? You just…playing with the food in your mouth." Asked a state troop, concerned.

"Hmm? Oh." Ben immediately swallowed the porridge. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. There's just…something unique if I have to put it."

"Unique?"

"Yes, Will. Try it yourself."

Will started to eat his porridge as well. Soon, other Albionians joined in.

"Hmm…never taste something like this."

"What did they put in here?"

"Pepper!"

Upon shouting that, said Albionian was immediately stared by the rest of them.

"What did you say, Al? Pepper?" Asked Ben.

"Yes, pepper. I remember the taste. My uncle and I helped a spice trader once. In return, he gave us some…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute." Said Will who raise his hands. "Spice? Aren't they worth in gold equals to their weight?"

"Well, not all of them, if I am correct. But yeah, generally that's how much they worth." Replied Al.

The Albionians continued their meals. Still, they were rather surprised by one of the ingredients used in their ration.

"They used pepper…for troop's ration…despite its price…" Murmured Will.

"Meh, is that really matter? If they want to do that, I said we let them do that." Stated Ben who stopped eating for a moment to drank his beer.

The troops continued their meals. When night finally set, they went to their tents to sleep, leaving those assigned for guard duty.

* * *

 **Answers to some reviews:**

 **Aquaticmammals:** No…main characters of _Warhammer Fantasy_ will arrive in Halkegenia. At most, it will be in _Warhammer_ world, flashback, mentioned, etc.

For the reaction of the religious factions, it will be there. For steam tank, hmm…

 **king Quinn The Last Heir:** Flagellants. Hmm…

 **TheSolInvictus:** Yeah, those are things I am really trying to get right. But, my sources are…limited, to say the least.

 **AZNMAGICMAN:** Well, Halkegenian nobles aren't that bad. I put them somewhere between Bretonnian and the Empire's nobles.

 **Mephiles666:** Yes, I have heard of it. The Empire realized that this Albion is not _Warhammer_ Albion thanks to several things. Like, it's not raining every day.

* * *

 **And it's done.**

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please!**


	8. Raiders Clashed

**Raiders Clashed**

 **Southern Albion**

Inside his personal tent, Wales was currently looking at the map on a table. On the maps he drew three green squares to indicate the location of his army and two allied armies. He also made two circles with the green square that indicate the location of his army as the center. The circles were to marked the area where his troops acquired some of their supplies through foraging.

Wales let out a sigh and picked up a cup of wine on the table. He grimaced when his tongue touched the liquid and let him taste the diluted drink. While this wasn't the first time he drinks a diluted wine, this one was even more diluted than the ones he normally drank.

Then again, he couldn't afford to get drunk, especially considering his current location. At the moment, his army was encamping near the border between lands owned by two nobles. Crossed that, which was not even ten miles away, and he would enter the territory of a noble who already declared his allegiance with the Reconquista.

His thought was interrupted when he heard a commotion from the outside. Wales put down his cup and walked out of his tent. He saw that the commotion was created by the men who helped the cavalrymen disembark from their mounts and escorted them to the infirmary. His face turned sour as he approached the nearest soldier.

"What's happening here, soldier?" Asked Wales.

"Y-Your Highness!" Said the soldier surprised before he and other soldiers who noticed the prince gave a bow of respect. "These men were sent earlier to collect firewood and water, sir. They told us that they encountered hostile foraging party and clashed with them."

Wales put his hand on his chin as his brain digested the newly-acquired information. He was near the border of hostile territory. Since his foraging party encountered enemy's, that meant a Reconquista was not far away from his.

The reason Wales' army camping near the border was because he has an intention of invading hostile territory. It took no brainer to realize that the Reconquista intended to do the same thing.

Wales started to think about the condition of his army. There were his personal bodyguards which were composed of some of the best mages Albion could offer. There were also several companies of the Kingdom's standing army. However, at the very least half of his men were green. In fact, this might be the first time they ever hold a weapon in their hands. Then there was the little fact that he didn't have field experience.

The prince turned around and walked back into his tent. Once inside, he immediately grabbed two pieces of paper and a quill. He then wrote the message that he wanted to send on them.

Hopefully, the two allied armies could arrive before the Reconquista find him.

* * *

 **Northern Albion**

On the road towards a city, a small band of Royalist forces were escorting supply wagons carrying food acquisitioned from the nearby villages. Most of the forces were composed of spearmen with the rest being dragoons and crossbowmen.

With the news of Northern Albionese rising up against the Royalists and the Reconquista and both were too preoccupied with each other, there was not much that either can do against them at the moment. Plus, if the rumor about them somehow managed to get their hands on some cannons, then the Northerners had a significant advantage.

Thus, the local commanders of both sides decided to concentrate their respective forces at walled settlements. That meant leaving many villages and towns undefended. But those settlements were not defensible in the first place, what with the enemy can simply sit down and bombard them from far away.

Of course, just because they more or less handle those settlements on silver platter, didn't mean the Royalists and the Reconquista have to make things easy for the Northerners. Both made the same decision of taking as many supplies as they can from the settlements that they abandoned. While they couldn't take all of them without the local population rioting, they only need to take enough so that when the Northerners decide to acquisitioned some supplies from their newly-acquired settlements, they wouldn't get a lot of them.

Suddenly, the entire convoy stopped when the foremost spearman got hit by an arrow coming from a forest at the east. Upon seeing that, the dragoons split up and the spearmen were forming shield walls. The crossbowmen and the wagon drivers hid behind the walls.

A volley of arrows flew towards the Royalist forces. Few fell from the attack but most stood their ground. Then, from the forest, came Reconquista swordsmen and dragoons. As they charged towards the convoy, the crossbowmen behind them reloaded their weapons.

The Royalist spearmen made some gaps among the shield walls, giving their crossbowmen a clear way to shot the approaching Reconquista forces. And fire their crossbows they did. Some of the enemy swordsmen managed to block the arrows with their shields while others didn't. The dragoons didn't have any protection against the arrows and thus could only hope that the shots miss their targets. One unlucky horse got hit by an arrow at the chest and fell. Its fall caused the two other horses behind it to tripped, sending their riders flying.

Seeing their counterparts, the Royalist dragoons galloped towards the Reconquista's. They took out their pistols and shot them as they approached the enemy dragoons. Their opponents were more than willing to give them the same treatment. When they were close, dragoons of both sides drew their swords and crashed into a brutal melee.

The Royalist crossbowmen managed to fire another volley of arrows before the spearmen had to close the gaps. As that happened, the Reconquista swordsmen suddenly stopped and ducked, giving clear sight for their crossbowmen. After a volley of arrows, the swordsmen stood up and formed their own shield walls. Slowly, the distance between the walls decreased until there was a distance no longer. Shields pushing each other, blades tried to pass through the gaps, and men held their ground.

"Hold the ground! Hold the ground!"

While the Royalists and the Reconquista were busty with each other, unbeknownst to them, from the west came cavalry of another side; the Pistoliers of the Empire of Man. The sounds of the dragoon's horses masked their presence. It was only when the Pistoliers were 50 feet away that the Royalist crossbowmen realized that there were more people coming.

"Cavalry! On our rear!"

Upon hearing the warning, the crossbowmen and several spearmen diverted their attention to their rear. Seeing that they've been spotted, the Pistoliers opened fire at the Royalist soldiers. Not being bothered by their fallen comrades, the crossbowmen returned fire at the riders. While those happened, the spearmen formed shield walls to protect the wagons. However, since most of them were busy engaging the Reconquista forces, there weren't enough of them to cover all of the wagon.

Just as expected, the Pistoliers rode back to where they came from when they were few feet away from the walls. While doing so, they didn't forget to shoot their second pistol at the spearmen. However, some of them didn't have a pistol. Rather, their hands were holding a torch.

When they were close, rather than shooting at the spearmen, the Pistoliers with torches threw them at the wagons, igniting the fabric used to cover the cargo inside. Seeing the wagons on fire, several crossbowmen and the wagon drivers attempted to put out the fire. The fire though caused the horses that pulled the wagons to panic. In their panic, the horses distracted the Royalist soldiers and some even kicked those who attempted to put out the fire.

The fire also distracted the Reconquista forces, as their intention was to capture the supplies rather than destroying them. Those who managed to pass through the shield walls admits the chaos were also attempting to put out the fire.

"Calm down! Calm down, will you?!" Exclaimed a soldier as he tried to grabbed a horse reins to no avail.

"There's water inside! Someone grabs them!" Stated another soldier.

As the fire spread, the Pistoliers began to rode away from the battle. Some of the Royalist dragoons tried to chase them, but were cut down by the shots from retreating Empire cavalry.

* * *

 **Rosenburg, Albion**

Rosenburg was the capital city of the southernmost province of area designated as Northern Albion by the Kingdom. It was currently being held by the Royalists, though there have been attempts by the Reconquista to take the city. So far, they were limited to raiding the countryside, which were easily repelled by the local Royalist forces.

However, another danger was closing in. Danger would require more than local troops repel.

* * *

Atop of the city wall, the Lord Mayor of Rosenburg, Sir Alexander Clerk, was looking at the scenery of nature surrounding the city as an aide gave him a report.

"So, there's no choice but to hold up in the city?" Said the Mayor while keeping his eyes on the scenery.

"I am afraid not, My Lord." Stated the aide. "Not only they have more infantry and cavalry then us, but the Northerners bring with themselves artillery as well. The city wall will be the only thing between us and the cannonballs."

The Lord Mayor let out a heavy sigh before taking out a handkerchief to wipe out cold sweat on his forehead. If the information that he received was correct, then holding up inside Rosenburg and wait for the relieve force to rescue them was the only choice.

Well, choice that didn't involve most of them becoming speck of blood in the ground, at least.

However, Sir Clerk doubted that a relieve force would come in time. From the letters that he had received up to this day, the Royalists would focus on destroying the Reconquista first before crushing the rebellion by the Northerners. Until then, the Royalists forces at the North have to hold the rebels.

All of that considered, it was very unlikely for him to be able to hold Rosenburg. The city would fall either by assault or by starvation. He might be able to hold until Summer, but he doubted the Reconquista would be destroyed when the season arrive.

Then, there were rumors on how the Northerners treated the nobles and mages that they captured. They would tied them at the stakes before burning them alive, all while chanting death to the witches. Even if the rumors were false, he still had no intention of being captured as those peasants obviously had no idea how to treat a noble prisoner.

Of course, running away was not an option. Rosenburg will fall into chaos and riots will occurred all over the city, causing a lot of death and destruction. Plus, the Lord Mayor would be branded as a coward.

Letting out another sigh, Sir Clerk began to walk towards his residence to prepare for the upcoming siege. On his way back, he couldn't help but wonder, how the Northerners managed to gain cannons?

* * *

 **Southern Albion**

"Your Highness, forgive my transgression, but your idea is not a wise one to do!"

"I myself agree with you, Edmund. But this is something that I will do."

"But, Your Highness…"

"But nothing!"

After sending the letters to the allied armies, Wales sent a group of scouts to check the condition of the Reconquista forces. It didn't take them long to return to the camp. There was a reason for that; a Reconquista army was on their way to Wales' army's camp.

His first order upon hearing the report was for his army to pack up and dismantle the camp. However, he then realized that there wasn't enough time to pack everything. There would be things that had to be left behind for there to be any hope of retreating without suffering casualty. Things that would weakened his forces while at the same time strengthening the enemy.

Wales also remembered that he passed through many villages on his way to his current location. By retreating, he would give the Reconquista forces free rein on the countryside. From the tales that his brother told him, it would involve burning and plundering. A lot of them.

As the Prince of Albion, he could not let that happen.

Wales returned to his tent, he looked at the map of the surrounding area and managed to find a good position. It was a nearby hill not even a hundred yard away from the camp. If he could occupy the hill, he would have the upper ground and the Reconquista will have to fight an uphill battle.

But then, there was another problem. If he wants to occupied the hill before the Reconquista arrived at the hill, Wales couldn't bring his entire army as many of them were still packing. "Many" being the important word.

Which was how Wales ended up in this conversation with his advisors. They tried to convince him to abandon the idea, even outside his tent, where others could hear them.

"Your Highness, according to the report from the scouts, your army is more or less equals to that of Reconquista. And yet you're going to face them with not even half of your men!" Stated one of his advisors.

"I know that. However, the Reconquista army will have been marching all day when they arrived and we will have the geographic superiority. An uphill battle won't be an easy one for the aggressor." Retorted Wales.

"But with the amount of men that you bring with you, Your Highness, the Reconquista could simply brute their way through with numbers. And if they see you, it will give them a huge morale boost as they will try to capture you." Stated another advisor.

"I already have a solution for that."

Before anyone could said anything else, a soldier brought Wales his horse. After mounting the horse, the Prince turned his attention towards his advisors.

"Sorry gentlemen, but my mind is set. If you really care about me, then come to the battlefield with me." Said Wales before he rode his horse away.

As they saw the Prince rode away, the advisors looked at each other before grumbling and went off to prepare themselves. As they walked, two of them have a conversation with each other.

"What do you think of Your Highness?"

"He's a good man, that is without a doubt."

"Indeed. And that is unfortunate."

"Of course. It is hard for a good man to be a king."

* * *

 **Answers to some reviews:**

 **The Last Of Rights:** Perhaps. Though could you tell me who Imperial Rangers are? I tried to search about them, but to no avail.

 **ATP:** Can't do that. Mathilda is a mage, thief, and spy. Not an exactly promising wife for the Imperial nobles.

As for her sister, well…

 **thatguy1796:** Yeah, I know about my grammar problem. I am trying my best to fix it. Not sure how good I am at fixing it though, to be honest.

* * *

 **And done.**

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please!**


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